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Two technologies that literally shone during Sandy's darkest hours

This post was co-authored by Rory
Christian (EDF’s Director, New York Clean Energy).

Superstorm Sandy turned New York
and New Jersey upside down, causing widespread power failures, destruction and death.
The storm cost the region tens of billions of dollars and left millions of
residents without light and heat.

In the midst of all that
devastation, there were two technologies that literally shone: microgrids and cogeneration.

Microgrids are small-scale distribution systems that link multiple distributed energy resources (DERs)
into a network that can generate, store and control its own power. Microgrids can
operate in tandem with the main power grid during normal conditions, but can disconnect
and function as an independent island if the main grid fails.

Cogeneration (cogen) uses a heat engine or power station to
simultaneously generate electricity and
useful heat. Like microgrids, cogen plants are able to operate as islands in
the event of a grid failure.

During and after Superstorm Sandy, when Con
Edison’s electrical grid shut down in Manhattan below midtown, New York
University benefited from its cogen plant, which was built in 2011. Once the
plant’s controls sensed that power was not ﬂowing from the grid, the plant
automatically isolated itself and began operating independently. The 22 buildings connected to
NYU’s cogen plant for electricity continued to have power, heat and hot water,
then reconnected to the grid once Con Edison was able to restore power.

The Co-op City development, in
the northeast corner of the Bronx, had a similar experience. It is the largest
single residential development in the United States, home to roughly 50,000
people. In 2009, Co-op City, as part of a major renovation, replaced its power
plant with a cogen facility. The cogen plant
has the capacity to produce as much as 40 megawatts (MW) of power, enough to meet
Co-op City’s electricity demand and generate enough steam to eliminate the need
for additional boilers, except in winter. During and after Superstorm Sandy,
when the surrounding neighborhoods were without power, Co-op City continued to
provide power as well as heat and hot water to its residents.

The point of these examples is
that Sandy taught us lessons not only about what couldn’t withstand the storm,
but what did work and why. EDF has been contributing to this body of knowledge and
we are already seeing progress across the Northeast as decision makers act to
make their regions more resilient.

Earlier this month, New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie allocated $25 million in federal
funds to local governments to develop
alternative energy projects designed to make the state’s power infrastructure
resilient and reliable during widespread electrical outages. In New York, EDF
is working with Governor Cuomo’s administration on establishing a “Green Bank”
that would transform clean energy markets by filling market gaps in financing
for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the state.

It will take time to transform
the large and complex power generation industry. But we are beginning to see encouraging
movement toward the goal of a cleaner, smarter and stronger energy
infrastructure that will not only reduce harmful global warming pollution, but
also protect us against future extreme
weather events arising from climate change.